THERMAL TRANSFER PRINTERS

摘要

A thermal transfer printer has a housing (4) accommodating a paper tray (26) and a print head (12) which undergoes a reciprocating movement above the paper tray (26) to execute print strokes and return strokes in alternate sequence. During a print stroke, the print head (12) presses a thermal transfer ribbon (13) against the uppermost sheet (30) of paper in the tray (26). This avoids the need for a conventional paper transport mechanism, thereby rendering the printer very compact and suitable for fitting in a confined space, such as the disc drive bay of a personal computer.